Common Ground: Act II Teaser
by Ursula Cousland
Summary: I wrote this  part of a scene  after seeing a *gorgeous* screenshot on the BSN Fenris thread, posted by Ladyshamen. All characters belong to Bioware, etc. etc. :  Rated M for content in Act II  though this doc is SFW .


_**Note: All characters are Bioware's. **I wrote this (well, more than what is here) after seeing a beautiful screenie (posted by BSN's Ladyshamen) of Fenris leaving Hawke after "That Night." To be honest, I want to be done with Act I in a big way. Act II is far more interesting to me at this point, so I hope to have a lot of updates soon. If you've read this far, thanks for your curiosity/interest. :)_

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><p><em>"<strong>Forgive me…"<strong>_

He'd stumbled away from Hadriana's hiding place almost blindly, and he was probably lucky he hadn't gotten himself attacked, injured, or killed on the way back to Kirkwall. He was emotionally overwhelmed in the worst way he'd been since he'd murdered the Fog Warriors at Danarius's command.

Crushing Hadriana's heart in his fist had been immensely satisfying. He hadn't been lying when he said that there was only one person he wanted to see dead more.

He had, however, lied about letting her live. He was still very glad she was dead, but…some part of him desperately hoped that the last bit of information he'd coerced out of her was true. If it _was_, then he was in the wrong, and lowered himself to her level, as Aniya would have put it.

_Remorse? Over __**Hadriana**__? Preposterous._

_Still…had Aniya agreed to spare someone in the same circumstances, she would have. In that regard, she__** is**__ a fool._

That was the other reason he was angry, but _this_ anger was directed at his own treatment of Aniya. She'd given him no real cause to rage at her, yet he had not needed it. There had been no judgment or censure in her words at all. All she had done was try to reach out to him. He recalled the surprise, confusion, and sudden mist in her eyes when he'd angrily shrugged her hand off of his shoulder and lashed out at her.

_If I'm looking for someone I have wronged today, it's An – Hawke. She was only doing what she has done since I met her. Her only sin was caring about me. No one else that I remember ever has before she started, and I have no idea why, but she does. And what did I do? I threw that back in her face. She was the last person who deserved my anger, but she is the one who suffered it._

Sorrow and regret replaced both his rage and the flicker of hope that he'd been trying to quash. He'd desperately tried to avoid growing as attached to Haw – _Aniya! – _as he had to admit he was. Bethany's death had changed her. Aniya was now displaying raw courage and conviction when she charged into danger and dragged him in with her. In her pursuit of slavers, thugs, criminals, assassins, blood mages, and abominations, she was now far more direct and far more aggressive, ignoring the risk to herself. That strong, almost _heroic_ fire had been absent before, but it blazed into life after Bethany died in the Deep Roads.

He had to admit that in the beginning, he'd been drawn in by his growing trust and respect for her. It had gotten to the point where she utterly fascinated him even when she was placing all of their lives in danger. He freely admitted a certain amount of lust for her too, but to be honest, he cared more about who she was. He greatly admired her for it.

_I … do I love her for it?_ That thought only added further confusion and guilt to his emotional turmoil.

Regardless, one thing _was_ clear. He** had** to find Aniya and apologize to her, ideally before she'd worked herself into anger over it. If she had, he could only hope to convince her of his sincerity.

_Aniya Hawke, you are the last person in Thedas I want to hurt, and you're the last person who deserves it from me._

He stood up, abandoned his shadowy hiding place, and made his way to the Hawke estate. Bodhan had dismaying news, however, and he was upset enough that he challenged Fenris in the first display of disapproval the dwarf had ever shown him.

"Mistress Hawke was injured in an ambush up on the Coast," he'd said. "Guard-Captain Aveline happened to see two of her other companions taking her to the Grey Warden's clinic. Weren't _you_ with them today, Messir?"

It was clear in his reproachful stare. Bodhan, who was usually protective and fiercely loyal to Aniya, was actually angry!

"How badly was she injured?" Fenris asked more aggressively than he'd meant to, and Bodhan took a step back before he realized what he'd done and mastered himself again. He stepped back forward and uncharacteristically glared at Fenris.

"Captain Aveline said she thought Mistress Hawke would be fine, but that it definitely needed attention," Bodhan paused, narrowing his eyes in thought, "and that Messirs Varric and Isabela did the right thing to rush her there. Mistress Leandra went to see her in a fright, but came back much calmer. She said that Anders wanted to observe her a little longer before he sent her home." The dwarf's eyes narrowed again as he peered at Fenris.

_Anders. Damn him. Aniya ignores his attentions, but that doesn't stop him from staring at her -and giving himself an opportunity - _

Fenris bit the inside of his lip and tried to distract himself from that thought as the raw anger returned. It didn't help, but Bodhan provided another, more effective diversion.

"Shall I tell her you stopped by?" The dwarf's protective tone was a challenge. Fenris didn't back down, not that he ever _did_ when it came to Aniya.

"No. I shall wait here. What I have to say to her needs to be said as soon as she returns." His tone was tightly clipped and now carefully neutral other than that, or so he thought.

"Very well," Bodhan peered at him another moment, then sighed. In the end, his manners and general good nature prevailed. "Can I offer you something – "

"No, thank you. I shall just wait in the foyer." With that said, Fenris turned and seated himself on one of the two benches there. He chose the one that was farthest into shadow. Bodhan watched him for another moment, then shrugged and went about his business.

The minutes stretched into at least an hour – a very _long_ hour. One hour became two. In that time, Fenris had plenty of time to – yes, _brood_ – over the entire situation. By the time the courtyard door opened, the strongest emotion he was feeling was regret.


End file.
